Montana zoning is local enough that a statewide search result can be misleading, but state law still shapes the rules every municipality can write. This hub collects 496 cities where Zonloty has a town-level report, then adds the state-level context investors should keep in mind before comparing districts, setbacks, ADU rules, or approval paths. The most useful reading is comparative: look for patterns in how cities regulate housing types, commercial corridors, industrial land, and board-level discretion. Use it as a starting point for market screening, not as a substitute for a parcel-specific zoning determination.
County and municipal zoning both matter. Incorporated cities typically regulate parcels inside city limits, while counties handle unincorporated land and may also coordinate growth areas, rural subdivisions, floodplain rules, or transportation corridors. A parcel just outside city limits can face a very different approval path from a parcel across the boundary.
ETJ is not a single national rule. In this state, parcels near municipal boundaries may be affected by county zoning, urban growth areas, annexation plans, utility service areas, coastal or floodplain overlays, or interlocal agreements rather than a Texas-style ETJ. Boundary research is especially important for industrial, subdivision, self-storage, and build-to-rent projects on cheaper land just outside city limits, where infrastructure timing can control whether zoning capacity is usable.
State housing statutes create some ADU or small-housing guardrails, but local code review is still essential. A statewide law may remove one barrier, such as owner-occupancy, parking, or outright prohibition, while leaving setbacks, lot coverage, septic capacity, height, design standards, historic review, and short-term rental rules to the municipality. Check whether the local code has been updated to match current state law.
For acquisition work, compare the listed city reports below against local zoning maps, planning board agendas, recent amendments, and comprehensive-plan language. The strongest opportunities usually appear where the code, infrastructure, and political direction all point the same way.